James Wiseman followed up his strong debut with an equally-impressive outing against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day. Though the Golden State Warriors lost this one, Wiseman certainly made an impression.
Scoring 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks, Wiseman looked like a gem of a find for the Warriors at No. 2. However, going up against the reigning MVP is a different experience.
To be fair to the rookie, there's little anyone can do to stop Antetokounmpo when he decides to put his head down going downhill.
The back-to-back MVP finished the game with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-15 from the charity stripe. He did all these in only 26 minutes as the Bucks ran roughshod over the Warriors, winning by a whopping margin of 39 points.
The Warriors are off to a nightmare start to the season as the average losing margin in their first two games is a shuddering 32 points.
Draymond Green, who's been Wiseman's mentor since arriving in Golden State, has yet to play a game. Stephen Curry is looking like he needs to shake off some rust from a long layoff. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. seem lost.
Wiseman has been the lone bright spot for the Warriors, but the sample size is small. Golden State has plenty of time to regain their footing as a lot of pundits have them among the top contenders this season.